January 27, 2009

Ms. Luz E. Sandoval-Walker

Assistant City Attorney

City of El Paso

2 Civic Center Plaza, 9^th Floor

El Paso, Texas 79901

OR2009-01050

Dear Ms. Sandoval-Walker:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 333153.

The El Paso Police Department (the "department") received a request for a specified incident report. You claim the submitted incident report is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses the doctrine of common-law privacy, which protects information that (1) contains highly intimate or embarrassing facts, the publication of which would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person, and (2) is not of legitimate concern to the public. Indus. Found. v. Tex. Indus. Accident Bd., 540 S.W.2d 668, 685 (Tex. 1976). You argue the submitted incident report should be withheld in its entirety under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. The submitted report pertains to an alleged sexual assault. Generally, only information that either identifies or tends to identify a victim of sexual assault or other sex-related offense must be withheld under common-law privacy. See Open Records Decision Nos. 440 (1986), 393 (1983), 339 (1982). However, a governmental body is required to withhold an entire report when the requestor knows the identity of the alleged sexual assault victim. See ORD 393. Although you seek to withhold the submitted report in its entirety, you have not demonstrated, nor does the information reflect, that the requestor knows the identity of the alleged sexual assault victim. Thus, the department may not withhold the entire report under section 552.101 in conjunction with common-law privacy. Accordingly, the department must withhold the alleged sexual assault victim's identifying information, which we have marked, under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy.

We note the remaining information contains a Texas driver's license number, which is subject to section 552.130 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ This section provides information relating to a motor vehicle operator's license, driver's license, motor vehicle title, or registration issued by a Texas agency is excepted from public release. Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(1), (2). Thus, the department must withhold the Texas driver's license number we have marked in the remaining information under section 552.130 of the Government Code.

In summary, the department must withhold the alleged sexual assault victim's identifying information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy, and the Texas driver's license number we have marked under section 552.130 of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released. ⁽²⁾

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General at (512) 475-2497.

Sincerely,

Jordan Hale

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JH/jb

Ref: ID# 333153

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

2. We note the remaining information contains social security numbers. Section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office under the Act.

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